New (to me) truck, first diesel....

[beanoil]

2003 Ford F350 supercab with 6.0 PSD. Yep, I read all the things that can be potentially wrong with this engine. Pulled the trigger anyway. Truck has 93,000 miles, super clean, 1 owner, new (installed by selling dealer) Firestone Transforce HT, and the worst thing I can find wrong is a couple of cigarette burn holes in the rear seat. Oil on dipstick is naturally black, PS fluid bright red and smells OK, transmission fluid same way. Truck has an aftermarket brake controller. My plan is Mobil Delvac 1300 15w40,(scored a 5 gallon pail at O'Reilly for 49.95) the MC FL2016 filter, and changing of all fluids before next spring for camping season. I'll have the brakes inspected, and most likely will have the front bearings repacked, and if needed, new u joints on the driveshaft. The only reason I even mention those things are because my F250 I traded in needed those items at about 120k, and I'd rather be safe than sorry. Towing a 9k travel trailer, and family in the truck makes my spider sense tingle, so safety is a top priority.
Any suggestions are welcome, especially about the oil choice, and fluids you may recommend. If the oil cooler and egr cooler become problematic, I'll look into the bulletproof offerings I've read about.
Thanks.

 

[cos]

Don't forget to bleed the brakes.

 

[4x4chevydude]

How often does the tans fluid need to be changed on these transmissions, my buddy has one with 119k and its running good, I would say dont forget to change out the fuel filters every 10-15k miles especially before the winter comes there is one inline and the other up by the oil filter. Other than that have fun with it i am jealous I wish I could afford a nice diesel truck they sound real mean and can tow just about anything.

 

[beanoil]

On my F250, I changed transfluid every 2 years. For me that was about 10k miles. Did it need it? No probably not, but in 146k it was the original transmission, and had never had anything done to it except fluid changes with Wolf's Head Universal. The F350 I just got has a different transmission that the F250 I had. I'm still studying up on it.
Thanks for the tip on the fuel filters. I just read about them in the owners manual. Looks pretty simple from the description.
And I didn't think I could afford a diesel either... This was a good deal IMO at 13,500 OTD.

 

[Michael_P]

A bulletproof offering is a EGR delete kit. Carbon builds up on the intake, breaks off and scores the cylinder walls. A friend of mine has seen this a few times on the VT366 (6.0 PSD) school buses. He is a school bus mechanic for a large city. Omitting the EGR makes this engine a 500,000 mile+ engine. They are actually built better and is a heavier engine than the old 7.3's. EGR aside, I think the 6.0 is a great engine. I would buy one if I was in the market. It's the best value in used diesels. Congrats!

 

[Ben99GT]

Originally Posted By: Michael_P
Omitting the EGR makes this engine a 500,000 mile+ engine. They are actually built better and is a heavier engine than the old 7.3's. EGR aside, I think the 6.0 is a great engine. I would buy one if I was in the market. It's the best value in used diesels. Congrats!


Omitting EGR and adding cylinder head studs and a coolant filter (to trap sediment from the dirty block casting) to keep the oil cooler fully functional might make it a 500,000 mile shortblock, but there's still the issue of valvetrain wear caused by the shared pushrod setup. Even if you avoid the outright breakage seen in some 6.0/6.4s, they still side-load the valves and accelerate valve-guide and valve wear.

There's a lot of fundamental problems with that engine family, but the 6.0 definitely can be made to last. I'm not so sure with the 6.4.

A friend of mine worked for UPS as a truck mechanic for a while, and the long time mechanics basically treated the 6.0 like a 150-250K engine. They considered the 7.3 a 500K engine.

 

[rufushusky]

How old is that coolant? Might not be a bad idea to flush it out now to fresh gold fluid or an ELC.

Also your 5R110 wants Mercon LV or SP only.

Good luck!

 

[artificialist]

Also, be sure to replace the gear oil in the rear axle, and if you have 4wd, replace the oil in the front axle and transfer case.

 

[beanoil]

Originally Posted By: rufushusky
How old is that coolant? Might not be a bad idea to flush it out now to fresh gold fluid or an ELC.

Also your 5R110 wants Mercon LV or SP only.

Good luck!

Picked up 4 gallons of ELC today at NAPA on the way home from work. With a 28 quart system, I should be able to get all 16 quarts in for a little more than a 50/50 mix. Thanks!

 

[ccdhowell]

I've recently done mods to my '07 F250 6.0L and it is a completely new engine with actual real-world towing capabilities now, should havve done it much sooner. I basically did the standard list for a 6.0L PSD, studded heads, EGR delete, turbo back exhaust with cat delete, coolant filter and an SCT performance tuner(+125hp). No way I would go back to stock again. My camper weighs about 11.5K and the truck just labored too much on any kind of grade before the mods. Now the turbo spools up quickly to get the trailer rolling and on hills I rarely need more than a quarter throttle to maintain 70mph. And the icing on the cake is that my fuel mileage went up about 3 miles per gallon! Sounds like you have a nice truck, take the time and money to do the things that will make it run well and for much longer than stock.

 

[MrCritical]

Don't know what your odometer mileage is, but the tune wipes out the powertrain warranty. With this engine, I'm thinking you may need it.

As for the egr/cat deletes, no emission testing in your area?

 

[chris67]

The common oil we use is 10w30hd Motorcraft at the dlr. It is either cj4 or cj5 rated. Make sure you only use the FL2016 as we have seen major disasters with aftermarket filters. Make sure the cap is Ford as well as some people throw out the original when using a filter with integrated cap. Keep oil changes at the 8000klm[5000mile} mark as this will help prevent the roller lifters from coming apart. If you had any specific questions I can generally provide answers.

 

[chris67]

What is ELC? You should only be using the gold premium etheylene glycol that it came with. It has the necessary additives to prevent diesel cavitation in the cooling system. Especially as we have seen cavitation behind the w/pump eat away the aluminum timing and oil pump cover. The 5r110w or torqueshift trans. is recommended to change the fluid every 50000klm's[30000miles]and originally sp fluid was spec'd. Lv might be the right replacement now. Two filters for the trans. btw. Two fuel filters as well and the recommended replacement is every 24000klm's. Aftermarket usually only sells one at a time and most people never realize there is a filter on the frame.

 

[4x4chevydude]

why does it need to be the MC filter, I use the AZ silver ones and they seem great...the fuel filter are very simple you will need a 36mm socket to get the inline off, but its the same size for you oil filter cap so its a 2for 1 and the one up by the motor just needs an extention handle to get off.

 

[chris67]

Coolant leaks are generally the reason why the egr coolers fail and incorrect or coolant that is never changed is the reason why oil coolers can plug. The real deficiency in this engine design is it's cylinder head clamping force. They are mls gaskets but coolant can seep into the cylinders and cause the low coolant conditon that will cause an egr cooler to fail. These engine are not built heavier than the 7.3l but can be maintained to give you a decent life. Ford and International spoiled consumers with the 7.3l because it was so forgiving when it was not maintained properly. When they ran out of oil the engine would just stop running due to the design of the injection system. The 6.0l actually is a high performance diesel that is always just on the edge. It way out performs the 7.3l. The 7.3l was not capable of conforming to the newer emission laws that came about for the 2003 model year and were thus obsolete.

 

[chris67]

As well as seeing some filters with integrated caps[ridiculous] we have also seen some aftermarket filters that are of the correct cartridge design but of different lengths. The proper filter is critical to closing the drain back valve in the bottom of the oil bowl. If it is not fully closed by the proper length filter, some of the oil flow will return back to the sump starving the engine and the high press. oil injection system. Given the price of the engine and or repairs why would take a chance. Some aftermarket filters will also disintegrate due to poor or cheap filter media and eventually lead to catastrophic failure. Proper maintenance by somebody who knows something about these engines is the best thing you could do. Sometimes a cheaper price for something does not make it a value.

 

[chris67]

The diff fluids in all of our vehicles is 75w140synthetis and only needs to be changed every 100000miles. If you do change it and it is slightly milky do not be alarmed that it is water. It is from the gear marking compound used during assy. Do not forget to add posi additive to the rear if equipped. Wynns makes an interesting egr and manifold cleaner but requires a special tool to apply iy in where the egr valve fits. We use this as a maintenance service every 60000miles.

 

[beanoil]

Thanks for all the replies... I am going to use the MC FL2016, although the Fram orange box is identical in every way including the marking on the filter, and instruction sheet. They are both remarketed Racor filters. I have the factory cap, but am very interested in the AmSoil cap with the tap, and their oil fill cap for a return for a simple bypass filter using a proven Baldwin head and B50 filter.
As far as the ELC, what I have gleaned from other boards, the coolant section of this board, and the Ford dealer itself, is that the Gold MC coolant (G05) was a matter of convenience for Ford. The identical engine in other International offerings has Extended Life coolant meeting Cat EC-1 and other diesel specs. A diesel coolant is even recommended by the dealer for trucks out of warranty (mine has 93k, and is now 8 years old) so that's what I'm going with.
Rear gear fluid will be done: I've had success with Valvoline Syn Power 75w140 in my F250, so I'll repeat that. I'm still reading up on the trans, and have been told that Mercon SP from the dealer is really the best choice. Unless I find evidence to the contrary, that's most likely what will wind up in it. Thanks to all..

 

[Dr_No]

In the 6.0L 6.4L and the 6.7L our shops have been told to run 10W30 HD Oil with CJ-4 specs year round. This is beacuse of the injection system. We do get those B.S aftermarket oil filters.. they are so stupid. We have to sell them an orig Motorcraft cap for the filter. $49.99. Stick with OEM parts/filters.

 

[ccdhowell]

Originally Posted By: MrCritical
Don't know what your odometer mileage is, but the tune wipes out the powertrain warranty. With this engine, I'm thinking you may need it.

As for the egr/cat deletes, no emission testing in your area?


Not concerned with the warranty, the dealer techs don't seem to be able to fix this engine properly anyway. No, no emission testing in my area.